HEDCOR INC. of the Aboitiz Group plans to put up nine more hydro projects with a combined capacity of as much as 160 megawatts (MW), according to a top company official.

Rene Ronquillo, Hedcor president and chief operations officer, said however that these proposed plants with varying capacities were still in the early stages.

Should all these projects push through, Hedcor may have to spend as much as P18.8 billion ($400 million), based on the general rule that a company needs to invest around $2.5 million to produce a megawatt of hydropower.

Recently, the DOE awarded 15 renewable energy service contracts to Hedcor for its mini hydropower projects in Benguet and Davao.

Hedcor owns and operates these 15 projects which have a total installed capacity of 38.22 MW.

Hedcor is the country?s leading producer of clean and renewable energy and is the largest developer of run-of-river hydropower in the Philippines.

Amy R. Remo